Brian Widlake, British broadcaster, Died at 85

  Media

Nigel Brian Windsor Widlake was born in 1931 and died on January 1, 2017.

He was a British journalist, broadcaster and presenter,

Initially, he served as a cadet before his promotion to 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Hampshire Regiment on 4th November 1950.

Brian Widlake worked as a reporter for ITN in the 1960s and was a regular presenter of BBC Radio 4’s news magazine programmes The World at One and PM during the 1970s and 1980s.

He joined London’s news and talk radio station LBC to present a breakfast programme on LBC Crown FM, later LBC NewsTalk 97.3 in 1989.

Then, Widlake transferred to LBC’s hour-long Midday News programme.

Brian Widlake conducted Nelson Mandela’s first ever televised interview in 1961.

During that time, Mandela was on the run from the South African police.

Brian Widlake also became well known for co-presenting The Money Programme on BBC 2 in the early 1980s with Valerie Singleton.

Brian Widlake was the stepfather of the sports journalist, TV presenter and former cricketer Mark Nicholas following his marriage to the actress Anne Nicholas in 1989.

His death following a short illness, was announced on The World At One (BBC Radio 4) on 2 January 2017.

Brian Widlake passed away at 85 years old.